BY OLIVER T. BACCAY
TUGUEGARAO CITY, Cagayan (September 14)—After the implementation of the Luzonwide Enhanced Community Quarantine, the Philippine National Police (PNP) in Region 2 has recorded 70 percent increase in the crime incidents in the Cagayan Valley region.
P/Col. Edward Guzman, Regional Operations and Management Division chief, reported to the Regional Peace and Order Council (RPOC) members that the police has recorded a total of 4,917 crime incidents from May 1 to August 31 this year, an increase by 2,025 as compared to the 2,829 incidents recorded in the same period last year.
He said Cagayan province has the highest record of 1,942; followed by Isabela with 1,832; Nueva Vizcaya with 779; Quirino-77, and Batanes with 13 cases.
“Of the total crime incidents, the non-index crimes has the highest with 3,854 due to the implementation of the special laws related to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic while there are only 312 index crimes,” Guzman said.
However, among the index crimes, rape cases registered the highest with 114, followed by physical injuries with 65, theft with 44, murder with 33, robbery with 28, homicide with 15 and carnapping with 13 cases.
Guzman said not all statistics on this period has escalated as the public safety index went down by 30 percent registering only 751 reported cases as compared to the 1,105 cases reported in the previous period.
“With our aggressive implementation of the special laws, especially the RA 11332 or the “Law on Reporting of Communicable Diseases and the RA 11469 “Bayanihan to Heal as One Act,” the crime incident in Region 2 has increased,” Guzman said.
He is hopeful that the public will learn to follow the protocols and guidelines, especially with Covid-19 to avoid further spread of the virus.